James Hardie's ASX shares extend gains, Morningstar sees AZEK buy yielding sales growth

ASX-listed shares of James Hardie JHX.AX extend gains, rising 0.9% to A$37.19, reaching their highest level since August 19, 2025

Fibre cement maker on Wednesday logged third-quarter adjusted net profit of $142.2 million, beating Visible Alpha estimate of $130.1 million; shares rose as much as 14%

Also hiked FY26 EBITDA forecast to $1.23 billion-$1.26 billion from $1.20 billion-$1.25 billion

Co's biggest segment- Siding and Trim - reported net sales of $788.3 million, 10% higher on an inorganic basis, driven by contribution recently acquired AZEK Exteriors

"We think the market is more bearish on the sales uplift and cost savings from the Azek acquisition", Morningstar says, adding it sees a reasonable runway for sales growth as the two companies' products are bundled together

JHX has a much bigger distributor and installer network, thereby opening up new sales channels for Azek's products, Morningstar adds

YTD shares up 20.5%